Virtual vs Reality
by HaruuChanSan
Summary: SAO and ALO are finally in the past, and returning players are adjusting back to their old lives. But when our favorite SAO players start noticing some strange things happening around the neighborhood, and things aren't really what they seem to be. How do they react? And what will they do to solve their problem? AU.


**A/N: Hello everyone! For those of you who don't know me, I also have two other fanfics for KHR , so if you're interested, go check them out and tell me what you think! Before, I start, here's a little explanation to avoid any confusion. Basically, this fic is set right after they beat Alfheim Online. Other characters such as Klein, Egil and Sachi will also be in the story, either taking place in Kirito's school or around the neighborhood. Sorry, the author's note isn't usually this long, so I'll keep it to a minimum during the coming chapters!**

**I don't own SAO!**

* * *

_3 months after ALO…_

"Yuki-san, please answer question 3," the teacher asked, pushing up his glasses.

"Hai," she got up from her chair and made her way to the blackboard to finish the problem. Just as she was walking up, she noticed that the teacher's body shape suddenly distorted, then returned back to normal just as quickly as it had happened. She stopped walking as her eyes widened. _A hologram? That's impossible, why would our math teacher be a hologram? I must be hallucinating, a side effect of being asleep for such a long time…_

_"_Yuki-san, is there a problem?" the teacher wore a concerned face.

"H-huh?" she snapped out of her thoughts. "U-uh, no, I-I'm fine," she blushed fiercely as she continued to walk to the front of the class.

* * *

Kazuto, who was sitting in the back, was staring out the window, lost in his thoughts. A squirrel like creature darted across the school yard, but stopping right in the middle of the garden, which was located right in Kazuto's view. As it sniffed the air, it stopped abruptly, and stared straight into the teen's eyes. Kazuto, who had zoned out, suddenly snapped out of it. _Why is it looking at me_? Suddenly, the creature's eyes glowed a menacing red, and then faded back to the usual black and beady as it carried on as if nothing had happened.

_Wait...what? What just happened? _He wondered. He decided to tell Asuna, who had already sat back down, about the little incident later on.

* * *

_Kirigaya residence_

Kazuto immediately ran up to his room right when he got home, and turned up his computer.

"Onii-chan, are you hungry? I'm going to practice soon, so if you want something to eat, tell me now!" his cousin called from downstairs.

"I'm fine, Sugu. Go ahead to practice, I'll make my own dinner!" he replied, quickly ending the conversation.

"Then I'm off! See you tonight!" she called out, running out the door.

Kazuto silently acknowledged her reply, knowing that she wouldn't hear whatever he was going to say. Instead, he turned back to his computer, and started an online chat with his friends from SAO, Egil, Klein, Sachi, Lisbeth, Silica and of course, Asuna. He typed in hello, and almost instantly, they replied.

"_Kirito! The weirdest thing happened today!" – _Klein

"_Is there anything weird going on in your neighborhood? I had the weirdest customer today..." – _Egil

"_When I crossed through the park after school today, I saw a really creepy animal..." _– Silica

"_No way! Me too! I was walking home and I saw this demented squirrel!"_ – Lisbeth

"_So did I…"_ - Sachi

"_You guys too? I saw one in class today.._." - Kirito

"_Do you guys wanna meet somewhere? Then we could talk about this in private. How about at your place, Egil?" – Asuna_

"_Come by after 8, I'll be closed by then."_ – Egil

"_Sure, I'll be there" _ - Sachi

"_Hehe, I actually have this giant pile of homework, can someone fill me in when they get back?"_ – Lisbeth

_"I'll fill you Lisbeth, I'm free afterwards," – _Asuna

"_You already finished the homework from math and science? Jeez, don't you have a life?" _– Kirito

"_Ehem, yes, I have a life," – Asuna_

_"Yea, it's homework XD" – Klein_

"_Klein…"_ - Sachi

_"*sigh* I'm going, I'll meet you guys later" - Asuna_

**Asuna has signed out.**

_"Aww...ok, I guess I'd better go too if my parents' are gonna let me go out tonight. Byeeee~" - Silica_

**Silica has signed out.**

"_Me too, bye!" _– Sachi

**Sachi has signed out.**

_"Yeah, I gotta go clean the place up. See you guys later" - Egil_

**Egil has signed out.**

_"Me too, homework calls, later~" - Lisbeth_

_**Lisbeth has signed out.**_

_"I'd better go too, I still have homework…" - Kirito_

**Kirito has signed out.**

_"Fine guys, be that way, I guess I'll just go too -_-" - Klein _

**Klein has signed out.**

* * *

Kazuto leaned back in his chair and though about it. Was it really a good idea to talk about it? Well, they had to figure it out somehow, right? So, why do they seem to be the only people who noticed it? He was spacing out when he realized that he still had to finish his homework if he still wanted to go. He got up from his chair and unzipped his backpack, only to realize that he forgot his science textbook at school! _Oh...well, I guess I can't do it now huh?_ He thought with a smirk on his face. He went back to his chair, and opened up his computer once again.

Another 3 hours passed, and Kazuto decided it was time to leave. He left a little note to his cousin saying that he went out, and quickly left. He grabbed his bike from the shed and climbed on. Then it hit him._ What are we supposed to even do? Even if we _do_ figure out what's going on, it's not like we can walk up to Akihiko and say stop, nobody even knows where he is!_ _And if we do find him, what difference does it make? _Kazuto paused and pondered at the thought, until he spotted his cousin running home.

"Sugu… you're home early…" Kazuto stood wide-eyed before her. The girl had her hands on her knees, and was panting like there was no tomorrow.

"Ah… Onii-chan… Practice ended early… since one of my classmates got injured… so I ran home… because I wanted to… spend more time with you…" she gasped between breaths.

"Sugu…" guilt chewed at the teen's insides as he heard those words. "I-I'm sorry… I have somewhere to go tonight… but… maybe we can hang out tomorrow?

"But… I can't tomorrow… tomorrow's the championships… remember?" Suguha stared at her cousin with puppy dog eyes.

"O-of course, how could I forget about something like that? I promised I'd be there cheering you on, right?" Kazuto managed a small smile.

"Y-yeah… I guess," the girl looked down at the ground. "I-it's ok… there'll be plenty of other chances to spend time with you… right?" she smiled back.

"Y-yeah…" Kazuto responded. "Well… I'd better get going then…" he climbed on his bike and pedaled away.

"Don't be out too late!" Suguha called. Kazuto's thumb shot up into the air, signaling that he heard her. She chuckled and went inside to shower.

* * *

Dicey Cafe

*Ding-a-ling* the doors to Dicey Café opened with a merry jingle as Kazuto and the others walked in. they had met each other on the way there by coincidence, and decided to enter together.

"Egil? You in here?" Klein called out, looking around. Somehow, in a matter of just a few hours, he had managed to clean every nook and cranny of the gigantic place. The floors shined and tables glistened in the bright light. Light jazz filled the background, giving the place just the right feeling.

The tall man came out from the kitchen door, wiping his hands on a tattered rag. "Sorry I took so long, I was cleaning up the back," he put down the rag and motioned for the five to sit.

"So how much have you guys seen?" Egil handed each of them a steaming cup of tea.

"Not a lot, today was the first time." Kazuto answered. He held his cup and absorbed the warmth.

"Same here, I only saw it today at work. I thought it was just some stupid kid…" Klein muttered.

"I thought that the teacher was a hologram…" Sachi added bluntly. She took a small sip from her cup.

"You too? I could've sworn that mine actually was…" Asuna added, unsure of the truth.

"It's weird though, dozens of customers come by every day, and I don't even hear any rumours. Before SAO and ALO, rumours were all they spoke about, but know, they come in, get a drink and leave," Egil said.

"It's mostly the same at work, though, not a lot has changed there. I see it mostly around the neighborhood when I go out. People don't talk to each other anymore. They just mind their own business like nobody else is there," even the laid back Klein sounded genuinely worried.

"Well, I guess we'll have to figure it out, right?" Silica said, trying to lift the heavy atmosphere.

Kazuto joined in, "Yeah, if we can beat SAO and ALF, we can definitely figure this out, right?"

"Yeah, says the guy who finished both games, we were just bystanders doing our best not to get in your way," Klein scoffed.

"Hey now, don't say that! We all beat the game, together, right, Kirito-kun?" Asuna smiled, sending shivers up Kazuto's spine. She pronounced each syllable of his name out to give it a scary feel.

"Y-yeah, of c-course…" he held up his hands in surrender.

More awkward silence hung in the air. It wasn't that they didn't want to talk about it, but more like they didn't know what to do. Finally, Kazuto spoke up.

"Do you guys have any idea of what to do, or who started this?" he asked.

"Well, my first guess was Kayaba Akihiko," Sachi said quietly. She fiddled with the cup in her hands.

"Yeah, I guess I would've thought that too, but for some reason I highly doubt that it's him," Klein scratched at his mini-goatee.

"I dunno, really. Maybe... it's Sugou who started all this, you know, the guy who managed the game and all," Silica said. She knew she was one of the, if not already, youngest players in the room, but chances were, she knew more than Klein, or Kazuto.

Asuna froze at the sound of her former brother, but didn't say anything. Luckily, Kazuto replied before anything got really awkward. "I-I really don't think it's him... you know, with how the games crashed and everything..."

"Hm... yeah, I guess you're right..." Silica blushed. How could she have been so stupid? Thinking she was smarter than the biggest gamer in the room only made a fool of herself.

Some more heavy silence hung in the air.

"Well you kids better get going now, you still have school tomorrow, right?" Egil asked.

"Yes Egil, children go to school on Thursdays," Silica joked.

"Pft, whatever, now get a move on," Egil shooed them out.

"Okay mom, good night!" Klein said. The red-head didn't even go to school!

As Kazuto was riding home, a thought popped into his mind. What if this _wasn't _the doing of Kayaba Akihiko? After all, he did help him beat ALO, so who exactly was it? It couldn't be Sugo, since he was already dead…

Kazuto didn't want to relive that memory. He pushed harder on the pedals and biked home. All he wanted to do now, was to get some sleep.

* * *

**A/N: So what do you guys think? I feel like the plot has some holes in it so feel free to give me any suggestions!**


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